A look back at some of the people and stories of 2013

Each Sunday in this space, we try to introduce you to people in central Illinois who are living interesting lives. And about this time each year, we look back at some of the people you’ve met.

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The State Journal-Register

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Posted Dec. 28, 2013 at 9:00 PM
Updated Dec 28, 2013 at 10:20 PM

Posted Dec. 28, 2013 at 9:00 PM
Updated Dec 28, 2013 at 10:20 PM

Each Sunday in this space, we try to introduce you to people in central Illinois who are living interesting lives.

And about this time each year, we look back at some of the people you’ve met. After all, people keep living their lives after their stories are told. Their tales sometimes grow even more intriguing.

So as we say farewell to 2013 and welcome 2014, let’s catch up with some of your friends and neighbors to see how the rest of the year treated them.

Makes moving the couch seem easy

The next time you think moving is a chore, consider what Davidsan’s Japanese Maples accomplished to expand its business this year.

Davidsan’s sells hundreds of varieties of the Japanese maple tree. It is known for having one of the largest, if not the largest selection of Japanese maples in the Midwest. We profiled owners David and Gale Myers on July 7.

So when the business moved from its location at 5611 Old Jacksonville Road to 919 S. Farmingdale Road, New Berlin, every plant that was in a pot, and every greenhouse, had to make the journey.

Not only that, the business added hundreds of granite sculptures to its inventory.

The Myerses bought an initial 11 acres (the actual nursery) and then acquired adjacent property for a total of about 20 acres. The property is about three minutes away from the business’s current location.

“In the spring, we are going to have hours of like 9 to 5 Monday through Saturday,” said Gale Myers. Sunday and evening hours will be by appointment.

A friendship the Myerses struck up with a man who had granite sculptures near the airport in St. Louis led to the business’ newest venture.

“He retired, and we purchased all of his inventory. We shipped it all here to our new location. We have several hundred pieces of granite sculptures — lanterns, fountains, different animals and people. There’s just a lot of sculptures out there,” said Gale Myers, who added there are also hand-carved wood pieces.

“There are tons and tons of new things.”

The website for the granite sculptures is davidsansgranite.com. The business website is davidsansjapanesemaples.com.

— Tamara Browning

Top dog

Back in March, Sandy McMillan was preparing Carrie, her Labrador retriever, for the American Kennel Club-sanctioned Obedience and Rally Trials being held at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. Their story appeared April 7.

Carrie started out doing well at the trials — until the three-minute stay where dogs must sit still while their trainers are out of view.

“Carrie said, ‘Enough of this,’ and she laid down. And that’s a failure,” McMillan said.

Page 2 of 3 - Fortunately, the disappointment McMillan experienced at the competition this past spring was overshadowed by events in the fall.

In October, McMillan and her dogs traveled to the Pacific Northwest to compete in the Labrador Retriever National Specialty show held in Lacey, Wash.

“My son lives in Portland, so we went out and visited them and then did some sightseeing in Seattle,” she said.

Carrie won three special awards at the national show. Along with her sister, Sylvia, and brother, Tyler, the three labs garnered enough points to earn their mother, Kitty, the Labrador Retriever Club’s Versatile Producer of Merit Award. The award is given to a dog that produces multiple offspring who conform to the breed standard.

For McMillan, the award helped to put her work as a dog trainer into perspective.

“We shouldn’t let the disappointments discourage us. Sometimes we get so caught up in what we’re trying to accomplish right now, at least I do, that I forget about what all I’ve accomplished to date. I think Kitty’s award brought that into focus for me,” she said.

— Dan Naumovich

Doing it again

Angela Koerwitz ran in the Springfield Clinic Springfield Marathon — the city’s first 26.2-mile race. Several runners were profiled Sept. 1, several days before the race began.

With her family and friends cheering for her throughout the course, Koerwitz pushed through.

“The marathon was an amazing process for me. It was the hardest I have ever pushed myself physically,” Koerwitz said. “I stuck to the training from beginning to end and feel so proud of my accomplishment.”

Despite feeling fatigue and dizziness during the race and suffering blisters and lost toenails afterward, she hopes to run one marathon per year.

Seventy-two-year-old George Hinkle also found the run to be tough.

“You just don’t go out and run a marathon everyday, especially at my age,” he said. “But we did it, and I wasn’t sorry a minute.”

Hinkle enjoyed running the 26.2 miles in Springfield. In the past he’s traveled to Las Vegas and Peoria to run. He was glad to have family and friends at this race, as well as fellow members of Springfield’s running community.

Hinkle’s focused now on becoming more flexible and strengthening his core through yoga. He also wants to run the Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon in April.

Race director Bill Stokes is already planning the 2014 race.

He said he expects a 25 percent increase from 2013’s 1,550 registrations in the marathon, half marathon and 10k run.

Page 3 of 3 - — Alissa Groeninger

Art with a message

Painter and tattoo artist Kevin Veara continues to produce stylish paintings of birds and plants, including some birds that are gone forever.

Right now, Veara said he is focusing on endangered species or extinct species like the Eskimo curlew and Bachman’s warbler.

The Eskimo curlew was a common shorebird, about 12 inches long with a curved bill. Thousands were killed each year until they disappeared about 50 years ago. The bird is considered to be extinct.

People hunted the curlews for food, and also sought their eggs that were valued by collectors.

The Bachman’s warbler lived in the southeast United States, choosing swampy, forest habitats. However, clear-cutting of southern forests in the 1800s caused the bird to become scarce.

It is also thought to be extinct.

“I am looking at Americans’ past and how poorly we have treated nature and my response to it,” he said. “I would like to paint the passenger pigeon and Carolina parakeet, especially since they were (once) living in this area.

“I might even try the ivory-bill (woodpecker).”

In addition to working at his tattoo business, Black Moon Tattoos, 1009 W. Edwards St., Verea is busy painting in anticipation of several shows of his work this year.

“There’s lots of brand new stuff, just in the past few months,” he said.

Veara often paints with bright colors, but sometimes he paints in stark black and white.

Veara’s work will be on exhibit in the Visual Arts Gallery at the University of Illinois Springfield from Jan. 27 to Feb. 27. The gallery is in Room 201 of the Health and Sciences Building on campus. A reception for the artist will be held from 5:30-8 p.m. Jan. 30.

Other shows are in the works, with up to five shows possible in the next 14 months, he said.